Paulo: Eels Enforcers Emerging

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Dyldam Parramatta Eels forward Joseph Paulo says he’s eager to see more of enforcers Danny Wicks and Richie Fa’aoso in the Eels pack as the 2015 season wears on.

Wicks made his return to the NRL in Round 2 for the Blue and Gold, aiming up against the Bulldogs in a 32-12 loss that saw him play almost forty minutes, almost twice what Head Coach Brad Arthur had planned.

For Joseph Paulo, Wicks’ impact after five years away from first-grade was impressive.

“It’s just good to see him back out there,” Paulo said.

“It was his first game in so long and he didn’t look out of sorts on the field.”

“He made an impact and every run he had I could just see he was bruising to the Bulldogs’ defence, so we’re looking forward to having that impact again from him this week.”

While Wicks became player 770 to wear the Blue and Gold jersey in first grade, new recruit Richie Fa’aoso has been sweating it out on the training paddock and sweating on approval from the NRL To resume his playing career.

Fa’aoso retired following a neck injury in 2013, and the Eels continue to work to secure the appropriate approvals to allow the forward to return to the game.

“You see Fus (Richie Fa’aoso) working for the last 3 months, 4 months, and he’s done everything he can,” Paulo said.

“You can’t really tell that he’s been injured because of the high quality of impact when he comes into the collision; sometimes we’ve had to pull him back because he goes that hard.”

“But you don’t want to see him training and bashing us at training: we want to see him start bashing the opposition.”

“Hopefully we see him on the field soon.”

The Eels take on the New Zealand Warriors on Saturday evening at Auckland's Mount Smart Stadium as part of Round 3: PlayNRL Round. Kick off is at 5.00pm NZT (3pm AEST)